


Change is difficult and overwhelming.

by valerian_valentine



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Chess, Depression, Emotions, Fluff, Games, Gen, Kinda?, Reader-Interactive, Sibling Bonding, Symbolism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26739907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valerian_valentine/pseuds/valerian_valentine
Summary: Dave plays chess with Dirk and has some deep conversation.. Kinda.
Relationships: Dave Strider & Dirk Strider, Dave Strider & Karkat Vantas, John Egbert & Dave Strider
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	Change is difficult and overwhelming.

**Author's Note:**

> use this website to kinda play along with Dave and Dirk and too keep everything from getting too confusing! https://www.chess.com/analysis

Dave stared at the board, his eyebrows furrowed as he waited for Dirk to make the first move. “So… Chess, huh?” He asked, trying to start up some light conversation. It had been deafening quiet since he got there and he was hating it, the quiet making his own thoughts ten times louder. Was Dirk upset? Did he do something wrong? Was Dirk going through another crisis? Jesus, it was so hard to tell with him. His poker face always seemed to be immaculate. Stoic, not an ounce of emotion to be found behind his soulless orange eyes. Like.. Like a fucking puppet. He shuddered at the thought, the idea of Dirk having felt limbs and glass eyes disturbing him way more than he’d like to admit.

“Chess.” Dirk replied curtly after moving his pawn. 2C to 4C. The bastard. Evil genius as some would say, a mastermind manipulator, the puppeteer to the entire universe.. Or just some nerd. “Sorry.” Dirk apologized, probably realizing he was being a brick wall again. It seemed 90% of their conversations were just Dirk apologizing for shit he couldn’t control or shit that would take years for him to unlearn.

“It’s okay. I know that kinda stuff if your default.” He reassured his ect-bro, moving his 7G pawn to 5G. His black chess pieces seemed almost to disappear within the board, void like in their design. It was a cool effect but it was beginning to trip him out.

“Yeah.. I uh, designed this board myself and wanted someone to appreciate it with me but Roxy is too spazzy to sit down and play, Jake doesn’t know how to play and I didn’t feel like playing with Jane today so.. You were the last option. I’m actually shocked you know chess.” Dirk praised in his weird, awkward way, bringing a knee up to his chest before moving his 2E pawn to 4E. Good play. Exposed his Queen in case he needed to use her for attack but kept a field of defense around her with his other pawns. What? He could be smart sometimes.

“I don’t, I just learned on the way here.” He admitted, grinning when Dirk finally tore his eyes away from the board to stare at him with suspicion. “Alright, it was a joke. John and I used to play together a while ago and the knowledge just.. Stuck with me, I guess. Rose tried to play with us but as you can suspect, she cheated a lot.” He admitted, gently picking up one of his pawns to examine it. It was matte black, probably painted with some weird void-y powers to create the effect it was causing. It felt like nothing in his hands, like an absence of space. The pawn design looked oddly similar to the consorts which.. Hurt sort of but the design was difficult to see with its lack of space and light reflection. The symbolism was a tad bit cruel as well but Dave was never one to look too much into symbolism, finding it boring and useless in the grand scheme of things. That was Rose’s thing. It was hard to see anything other than the outline of the piece but he could spot a few details here and there, sharp teeth and long noses. Things revealed themselves the longer he looked, things he shouldn’t be looking at like secrets and such. He put the piece back down. Better just leave the unknown exactly that. Unknown.

“Spooky design.” He complimented, moving the pawn from 7E to 5E, putting him and Dirk’s pawn into a stalemate for now. The board wasn’t painted with the same thing the pieces where, which Dave was grateful for. Instead, it seemed to be carved from wood and looked like any old classic board with a few mistakes here or there. Man made. It was a bit haunting to see the almost supernatural pieces on the man made board but he didn’t think about it too hard, not wanting to get a headache or get lost in some deep ass thought but he was sure Dirk spent days agonizing over the design of the chess set.

“Thank you. You’d be surprised how easy it was to get them to be so.. Voided. Shame no one likes playing with me.”

“You could play with John, he loves a good game no matter what the game is.”

Dirk snorted at the suggestion, rolling his eyes. “Yeah right.” He mumbled sarcastically, nudging his 2H pawn to 4H, freeing up his tower or whatever it was called. The slidey guy who looked oddly like the towers on Prospit and Derse. More symbolism yet again. Will it ever end?

“What? John would love to play with you.” He told his ect-bro, crossing his legs criss cross applesauce just to get more comfortable in his wooden chair. He wouldn’t have been surprised if Dirk also made these chairs, the crazy bastard.

“No offense but… John is just..” Dirk stared at the board, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to think of a good way to describe John. “Confusing and difficult.”

Dave shrugged, taking Dirks 4H pawn. The piece buzzed with knowledge in his hand, glowing on his skin which was a bit annoying. It was filled to the brim with every possibility that could be carried out in this game alone and hundreds of others, the outcomes of every single move, every single breath. It demanded to be acknowledged. He set it next to the board, doing his knightly duty by ignoring it. “I understand that but John is… Difficult in general. He doesn’t understand that you work differently than he does and I think it’s hard for him to process, hey, maybe Dirk doesn’t really know a lot about social cues and shit because he didn’t have that for most of his life.” He explained, looking at his bro. His eyebrows were drawn together, his lips pressed into a thin line to show his frustration with the situation. He was always grateful Dirk managed to emote around him, that made everything a lot easier.

“I know, it’s just…. Frustrating and overwhelming, I guess.” Dirk sighed, moving his 1H tower to take his pawn. “Everything nowadays is like that, I suppose. It’s weird suddenly having.. Life around me.” He mused, twirling the black piece in his hands, the void refusing to reflect the light around it. “I mean, there’s ground everywhere and there’s so much fresh air and a lot of fuckin’ noise. So much noise.. It’s what I wanted for years but now that I have it, I kinda wish I could give it back, ya know? Sorry, that’s kinda selfish.”

Dave chuckled, having already predicted Dirk would have said something like that. “It’s not, dog. All of us have thoughts like that. Hell, sometimes I miss my old life. I miss the strife's and the injuries and the puppets and.. All of that. It was something, you know? It was all I knew and now that I’m surrounded by people who would never want to do those things to me, it’s…. Weird. Really fucking weird, dawg. Like.. Constantly being on the verge of drowning and when you suddenly get thrown onto dry land it’s weird and way too much at once and you miss the pressure and anxiety of the water even when you know it’s bad for you, even when you hated every second of it, even if the land is better for you, you always wanna go back to the cold, dark waters..” He mused, running a hand through his hair to calm his nerves. Even when he knew these thoughts were normal, they were hard to say them out loud. “I know it’s wildly different for you and Roxy though. I’m used to people and crowds, you two aren’t. I can’t imagine what that’s like but trust me when I say you two are adjusting wonderfully as far as I can tell.”

Dirk huffed a quiet laugh, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards ever so slightly. “Roxy is. She’s a natural born extrovert, the crowds and attention is heaven for her. But.. It’s just harder for me, Jake too. Suddenly there’s people around me and they can touch me and I can touch them and we can talk face to face and it’s all just overwhelming in a way I can’t even begin to describe. I’m just not familiar with it and after being on the internet for so long, reading so many stories about the bad that people can do once they can physically get to you.. I guess those stories only fuel my anxiety, my paranoia.”

Dave nodded as he listened, shuddering as he thought about the amount of fear and anxiety Dirk must feel on a daily basis. It almost made him feel bad when he took Dirks tower with his queen.. Almost. “I’ve noticed. It’s not obvious but it’s the little things. Staying near exists, covering your drink, never going somewhere private with anyone from my timeline.. Don’t worry. The other’s haven’t noticed that yet.” He reassured him, setting the tower next to his stolen pawn. He hated how it angrily buzzed in his hands. “I can introduce you to them more one on one if you’d like. We can schedule a game night with Egbert, that’ll be fun but I have to warn you, he’s a fucking cheater.”

Dirk tensed visibly across the table but didn’t immediately shoot down the idea which was a good sign. “I’ll think about it… I don’t think I’m quite ready for something like that just yet. I’m already having to deal with.. This.” He gestured around him, at his house. It seemed fairly normal but it was big, full of open spaces with random corners full of parts or puppets or half done sewing projects. It was honestly one of Dave’s nightmare places. Too many open spaces, so much emptiness.. “Life in general and no longer having my apartment, my ocean, the drones... You know, I never had to deal with cicadas or bugs at my place. Of course, there were water bugs but that’s way different than bees or ants. It’s… Loud here too. Vibrant and alive. Makes me miss my ocean, my lack of civilization and the silence that came with it.” He admitted, eyes scanning the board. “I dunno. It’s just.. Fucking weird.”

Dave made a noise of agreement, sitting up straight once he noticed he was hunching. “I understand. The liveliness and attention of it all is nearly deafoning, honestly, even for me. I never thought I’d reach my limit when it came to receiving attention but here we are, haha... I guess it’s a lot easier for me to deal with, I love all of the positive attention and the fans but I can imagine the toll it must take on someone like you. You’re a very private person.” He smiled when Dirk groaned dramatically, his heart squeezing happily in his chest. He was so grateful Dirk trusted him enough to be so expressive around him.

“Don’t even get me started on the attention!” Dirk complained, moving his 1G knight in front of his king to protect it. “It’s like someone is constantly breathing down my neck, wanting to know every single detail about my life and it’s so fucking overwhelming, especially when I can’t tell them the truth about some things because I don’t wanna be written as the ‘evil god’ or whatever. Although, it seems Rose is already doing a great job at portraying me as such in her stupid little books which I never said she could involve me in and it all just created this boom of the people wanting to get to know me. It’s so fucking frustating.” He sighed, setting his leg down. “Don’t get me started on the drama! Everyone wants to know what my relationship with Jake is right now and everyone thinks I’m some sort of hopeless romantic piece of shit that’s torn to pieces over the break up or I need to be forgiven or whatever but it’s not that simple! I can’t just snap and tell the public that Jake and I are just friends and we’ve gotten past the whole romance thing because that will just make them upset and I can’t say that our relationship is complicated because then everyone will think I’m covering something else or they’ll go attack Jake and paint him as the bad guy for the hundredth time when in reality, we’re both the good and bad guys! We were stupid teens, the entire situation had no good or bad guy! Just two fucking stupid idiots. Oh, and apparently! I’ve got a crush on John that’s throbbing more than a fucking horses cock and I’m jealous of Roxy for getting close to him or something and just-!” Dirk cut himself off with a groan, rubbing his face. “It’s too much. I just got here and I’m already getting slammed with drama and relationship issues and it’s too fucking much and the second I try to hide and take a break from the press, someone else is dragging my name through the mud and it just.. Hurts and it feels like no one understands.”

Dave reached across the board to hold Dirk's hand but decided that would be too much for his ect-bro and settled on resting his hand next to the board, offering it to Dirk in case he wanted to take it. “I get it. We just got here and there’s already a lot of pressure. John’s going through a similar situation, I’m sure you two could rant for hours about it together. He’s about just as fed up as you are about all the public drama.” He reassured him, moving his 8F bishop to 5C, trapping Dirk’s pawn. “I know I keep mentioning him but I really feel like you two could do each other some good. He could teach you how to loosen up a bit and you can teach him how to safely break down, so to speak.”

Dirk frowned, finally taking his eyes away from the board and making eye contact. As always, it was intense and unnerving but he was getting used to it. “Break down? What do you mean by that?

It was Dave's turn to tense, tapping his fingers against the table rapidly. “Uhh… I won’t go into details but I think he’s kinda.. In a stalemate with himself. He made it to the other side of the chess board and now he doesn’t know what to do, so to speak.” He ran his hand through his hair again, sighing. “I think everything is finally catching up with him and he’s not ready to admit to it or accept help. That’s kinda why I insisted on us meeting up soon, I think you’d be a good comfort because of your class and all.”

Dirk pursued his lips, glancing to the left, a thing he did when he was thinking. “You know, my entire existence is to tear everything down. Get someone to the bare bones of themselves and leave them there. The Tower card, like Rose said in her book.” He grumbled, doubting himself and looking like a kicked puppy. God, he fucking hated that look and Dirks self confidence issues. It just didn’t make any sense!

Dave scoffed, not letting his brother finish his upcoming self deprecating ramble. “Yeah, so what? You know, The Tower card is a necessity. You can’t go through life replacing tiny bits of yourself over time. Sometimes, things go so fucking wrong that it’s better to tear everything down and start from scratch and I think you’re the guy lights the match and throws it towards the tower, setting it ablaze and then helping rebuild it to be better, stronger. You may not be loved by all but without you, there would be no progress and we’d all be stuck trying to build a foundation on rotten wood. Yeah, maybe the rotten wood has sentimental value or fucking whatever, but without someone there to force us to face the facts and destroy that bit of ourselves we’d be.. Stuck as inferior versions of ourselves. Take Jake for example! Without you, he would be the exact same and he wouldn’t have built a harder outer shell, he wouldn’t have been forced to face himself and evolve, he wouldn’t have been forced to evaluate himself and build on the rubbles of his old identity. You are the antagonist of everyone’s soul and emotions-”

“Gee thanks?”

“-but we need that because otherwise, we won’t grow as human beings. Yes, it makes everyone feel like shit and it hurts and no one, especially you, likes it but it has to happen. But, you need to realize, you can be the antagonist, the arsonist that burns everyone's souls and emotions to the ground, and you can still be loved.” He rambled, rapidly tapping his foot. “Without you, none of us would be better people. Without you here to slap us in the face and set everything ablaze, we wouldn’t evolve in the way we needed.”

Dirk stared at him in silence, tense as always before he slowly moved his 2D pawn to 4D. “I… I see what you’re saying but I don’t think John needs someone like me around him right now, especially if he’s going through a depressive episode. I’d just made it worse.” He said quietly, bringing both his knees to his chest. Man, talking with him was like pulling fucking teeth with lube covered pliers and no paper towels.

“He needs you there to teach him how to make a new foundation, how to handle the grief he’s facing.” He explained, lowering his voice. “You aren’t- You know what? No, I don’t gotta explain myself or hype you up. You’re doing it whether you like it or not. No ifs, ands or buts….. Heh, butt.” He smiled at his own stupid joke, grinning at his ect-bro, hoping he could lighten up the mood even just a little bit.

Dirk rolled his eyes at his immaturity but his mouth betrayed him, displaying that awkward smile Dave knew and loved even if it was really creepy looking. “Fine, guess I’ll just let myself get kidnapped. The press will have a fucking field day with that one. Prince of Heart kidnapped by Knight of Time, taken to an unknown location. Rivalry or a heated fight over the mutant troll's heart? Let the fucking audience decide.” He moved his 2E knight to 4F, exposing his king for the taking. Loser. “Speaking of Karkat, how’s he doing? I know you two have some of your own drama going on.”

Dave frowned, effectively distracted from the board for a moment. “How’d you know? You know what? Nah, I don’t wanna know. Karkat and I are…” He felt his face heat up, his thoughts clouding as he tried to explain his relationship with Karkat to Dirk who was watching him smugly. “Um… Complicated?” He tried to explain, moving his 5C rook to 4B. “Check.”

Dirk swore quietly under his breath, tapping his fingers against the table rapidly. “Damn, I really thought that would have distracted you.” Dirk grumbled, moving his king forward. “So, explain complicated. Last time I tried to question Karkat about it he yelled at me for half an hour about various quadrants and… Feelings. It gave me a headache that lasted two fucking days.”

Dave laughed quietly, cracking his knuckles. “Yeah, he does that.. Um..” He moved his 7H pawn forward two spaces. “We’re kinda… Living together? It’s a weird arrangement that makes so many weird issues pop up that not even Rose could have predicted but Karkat… He’s a good roommate. He’s loud and that’s what I like about him. I can just peek my head out and immediately know which room he’s in, it’s nice and he’s expressive. Cuts right through my bullshit too, which is annoying but a necessary evil I suppose. He hates how fucking filthy I am though, keeps demanding I do dishes but I’m conducting an experiment, ya know? I wanna see what kinda mold I can grow in my old cups. Tea is one of the fastest things to grow mold, it’s really cool and sometimes the honey crystallizes along the edges and the bottom. I’m hoping my microscope comes in soon so I can start taking samples and seeing what’s going down on the microscopic level. Of course, Karkat doesn’t enjoy my genius experiments but he can just deal because this shit is so fucking cool, ya know? He also doesn’t enjoy my taxidermy habit but if he gets to have his weird troll porn posters all over the walls then I can have my funky little rat clowns.”

“I’m sorry,  _ rat clowns?” _ Dirk questioned, his eyes wide. He wasn’t disgusted, just interested. “Do you take commissions?” He moved his 2G pawn forward one space, not even looking at the board at this point.

“Oh, you fucking bet. I got bones, specimen jars, stuffed shit, anything you fuckin’ want and more. Hey, I’ll give you a free medium sized stuffed thing if you can give me something in return. A trade.” Dave grinned, already thinking about all the shit he could cause with one of Dirks creations.

“Bet. We can discuss details after this game but for now, I’m thinking something along the lines of a gopher that looks suspiciously like Jake…. For innocent, non-illegal reasons.”

“... Are you gonna fuck the gopher-”

“Dude!” Dirk gagged at the idea, recoiling in disgust. “No! I’m gonna break in his house and put it somewhere to scare the shit out of him! God, the fuck is wrong with you?” Dirk shuddered, shaking his hands to get rid of invisible filth.

“Hey! I’m not one to judge but I cross the line at beastiality necrophilia, alright? Just making sure I’m not related to someone who is truly fucked in the head.. But yeah, I can make a mini Jake no prob. In return, do you have any devices that can make Karkat’s life a living hell for… A week or so? Then become useful afterwards. Or! Or! An ice machine that spits out ice randomly to hit whoever is passing by.” He suggested, evil ideas racing through his head.

“Yeah, that’s like kid shit. I’ll come up with a few ideas and we can meet up later and exchange the goods.” Dirk grinned, crossing his arms. “Good to know we’re on the same side about mischief. Remember, if you tell anyone about this plan, I’m going to ensure all of your electronics backfire in some horrible way like flooding your bedroom or causing mushrooms to grow from your walls.”

Dave shrugged, taking Dirk’s 3G pawn with his queen. “Deal, dawg as long as you don’t tell anyone about my plans then I won’t tell anyone about yours but I will need a picture of what outfit you’d like this mini gopher Jake to be wearing.”

Dirk easily took his queen with his pawn, grinning. “Damn, that’s a good fucking question dude. I would like a skanky maid outfit or something just to pack on some humiliation and to shove his face in the fact that most everyone just thinks of him as a whole fucking bakery instead of just the cake but we’ll just go with one of his usual outfits so he recognizes the gopher as himself immediately.”

Dave frowned, running through his mental catalogue of slang terms. “Bakery instead of just cake..?” He questioned quietly, moving his 8B knight to 6C, trying to get the metaphor to make sense in his head.

“You know, like, people refer to ass as cake and if he’s the whole fuckin’ bakery then his ass is his most defining feature.” Dirk explained, analyzing the board. What kind of… Why would they call the ass cake? Fuck, Dirk’s timeline was way too fucking confusing. 

“Oh.. So, Karkat would have hella cake?” He asked, flushing when Dirk burst out laughing. “What?” He questioned, embarrassed and hoping to god he didn’t say something wrong.

“Oh my god! You are such a  _ simp! _ ” Dirk laughed, holding his stomach as he leaned back in his chair, his cheeks coloring from how hard he was laughing.

“English, Dirk! Do you speak it?!”

Dirk continued to laugh at him for a solid minute before calming down. “A simp is like… Like a fuckin’ beta male or whatever. The guy that treats women like actual human beings, it’s a term that was used by incels to make fun of male feminists but, as always, it turned into a meme so now anyone who is vaguely nice to a specific person is a simp.” He explained, grinning, his chubby cheeks nearly hiding his eyes.

“Oh… So you’d be a simp for Rainbow Dash?”

Dirk's smile fell in an instant, causing Dave to burst out laughing while Dirk pouted in his chair. “Not funny, Dave.”

“It’s kinda funny!”

“You’re such a boomer, Jesus.” Dirk grumbled, moving his 2A pawn up one space. “You don’t even know how modern lingo works.”

Dave rolled his eyes, still grinning from ear to ear as he moved his 4B bishop to 8F to prevent it from getting killed by Dirk’s stupid pawn. “Sure, bud. What were we talking about?” He questioned, wanting to start up their ‘deep’ conversation up again so he could hopefully bond on a deeper level with Dirk instead of just joking around together and keeping the peace.

“We were talking about your relationship with Karkat.” Dirk moved his 1F bishop to 3H, staring at the board with intensity. 

“Oh….. Right. Fun.” Dave felt his face heat up again, biting his bottom lip. “Yeah. As I was saying, it’s all kinda complicated. He’s really nice and stuff when you get to know him, I’m sure he’s extra prickly around you and Roxy because you two are… Weird. Like you were raised a half troll, half human and the way Karkat responds to other trolls he doesn’t know is kinda aggressive. He’s nice, I swear.”

Dirk raised an eyebrow. “I never said he wasn’t nice but thanks for the reassurance. Honestly, my first impression of him was that he was a bit of an insecure prick that felt the need to run his mouth so people would think he was scary but he’s actually defended me a few times. Like when John gets a bit too touchy feely for my tastes and won’t take my obvious hints, Karkat usually steps in and tells him off. It’s… Nice. He’s a safe person, I guess.” Dirk had a small smile on his face.

“Simp.” and there goes the smile.

“I’m going to piss on your bed.”

“It’s the absurd threat for me.” Dave was grinning ear to ear now, basking in Dirk’s uncomfortable cringey vibes.

“That’s- No. Just no.” Dirk shook his head, looking immensely uncomfortable by Dave’s incorrect usage of meme and slang terms.

“What? I’m trying to fit in with the youth! The hoodlums! Gonna go into a skate park and blend right in with my, what was it? Cake? Yeah.” He moved his 7F pawn down two spaces, giggling at Dirks disgusted face.

“We’re changing the subject before you end up saying something even more atrocious. What should I expect from my forced hang out at Egberts house? Like, should I show up in a hoodie in jeans or like, a tank top and sweatpants, like what's the dress code? Would it be weird if I showed up in my pajamas? What kinda snacks should I bring? I know he’s allergic to peanuts but how allergic? Can I bring Reeses cups for myself? What kind of ice cream does he like, how much butter does he want on his popcorn? What’s the schedule?”

Dave raised an eyebrow. “You have so much more anxiety than I thought, huh? Dude, this is a casual, no stress event! Just a hang out! You don’t gotta worry about any of that stuff but do be warned, John pronounces his words wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“Pee-can and aa-lmend. It’s fucking horrendous.”

Dirk fake gagged, moving his 2B pawn up one space. “God, I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle that.”

“I fucking know, it’s awful but if we berrate him enough he’ll stop for the day. Don’t worry too much about peanuts, he can be around them just not consume them because he has literally the weakest immune system and I’m straight up shocked he’s made it this long without choking to death on a peanut but whatever. He likes his popcorn greasier than a lady in a PornHub massage video, alright? More yellow than a racist's teeth with extra salt. So, basically, he just liked eating pure butter and salt because he’s fucking weird but go him, I guess. I think it’s his own way of having some sort of rebellion phase? I’m really not sure what goes down in his funky mind. You know, he’s vegan.” He pushed his 6C knight to 5E, shaking his head. “I’m sure there’s something wrong with his head.”

Dirk snorted, rolling his eyes. “You know, I was technically a pescatarian.” Dirk used his queen to steal his pawn, said pawn nearly disappearing in Dirk’s hands. Weird.

“The fuck is a pescatarian?” He questioned, moving his 7D down two paces to delay Dirk’s queen. He wasn’t really focusing on the match anymore, hoping it’ll wrap up quickly so he could go prepare for their fun fest at Egberts house.

“A vegetarian that only eats fish meat and fish by products. I think I could be wrong.” Dirk explained, moving his queen to take Dave’s knight. “Check.”

“Fuck… Maybe I should actually, like, pay attention when I’m playing chess.” He grumbled, tapping the edge of the board. “You know, sometimes I forget you didn’t have a lot of food in your timeline. Maybe we should just pin you down and feed you different types of food just to see what the fuck will happen.” He moved his king to the right, preventing Dirk’s queen from grabbing it.

“I don’t suggest doing that. The first time I tried modern soda was… a mess.” Dirk mumbled, moving his queen to 8H, taking his tower. “Orange flavored Monster is a pretty overwhelming taste after spending most of your life without carbonation.”

Dave chuckled, imagining the sight of Dirk tasting carbonated, non expired soda for the first time as he moved his 5F pawn to take Dirks 4E pawn. “I think next time I start getting sad again, I’ll just imagine you foaming at the mouth and choking on fuckin’ cola.”

Dirk smiled, moving his 4F knight to 6E. “Check.”

“Damn.” Dave whispered under his breath, taking Dirks knight with his 8C bishop. He was incredibly rusty and he already knew he wasn’t going to win this one.

Dirk took Dave’s bishop with his own, still grinning. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be, I love playing and it’s been a fucking while since I’ve played.” He moved his king away, placing it in front of Dirks bishop. A complicated and difficult position to be in for the pieces but a safe one for the players. He wondered how the actual pieces would act if they had to live out rules like this, unable to kill the king despite him being right in front of them.

“You’re actually pretty good for not having played in a long time.” Dirk took Dave’s knight with his queen, only having to move it one space to the right.

Dave moved his king to 6D, the piece almost buzzing with fear against his fingertips. “Thanks, I appreciate it. When's the last time you played?”

Dirk hummed in thought. “Jeez… A few months ago? Jane and I were bored so we decided to play together. She’s good, just.. Over thinks it.” He explained, moving his 6E bishop to 8C. 

“Chess is a difficult game to not overthink.” He took Dirks bishop with his castle, eliminating the threat for now. The white piece buzzed almost angrily in his hand as he put it to the side with the other white pieces, all of them radiating energy and knowledge.

Dirk nodded, taking his 5D pawn with his queen. “Check. I think chess is just easier for me not to overthink, it’s easy to tell someone's skill level but to be fair, you never truly know what move they’re going to make next and that can fuel the anxiety of not wanting to lose.”

Dave moved his king to 7E, making a noise of agreement. “I regularly find myself second guessing everything I do in the game, always judging people's skill level and if you over or underestimate it, it’s game over in nearly an instant.”

Dirk moved his 1C bishop to 5G, causing Dave to curse under his breath. “Check.”

“Fuck, forgot about that guy..” He mumbled, moving his king up and out of danger.

Dirk moved his queen to 6E, smiling a bit. “That’s another thing. It’s so easy to get caught up with one square section, you forget about everyone else. Check.”

Dave moved his last bishop to protect his king, already knowing he was going to lose. He knew he was going to lose the minute Dirk brought up Karkat. Now, it was only a matter of seeming like he wasn’t expecting this. Dirk took his bishop, effectively trapping his king.

“Check mate, poggers.” Dirk said with a grin, holding his hand across the board. “GG, dude.”

“Poggers…?” Dave mouthed the word, eyebrows furrowing but he took Dirks hand, not wanting to be a bad sport. “GG. Next time, I’m kicking your ass at this.”

“You think we could include some swords?”

Dave grinned. “Fuck yes. We’re makin’ this happen, dude.”

**Author's Note:**

> im not 100% happy with this one but i promise i know how to play chess and im actually kinda good at it, don't flame me pls  
> check out my tumblr valerian-valentine-2 for more shit like this!


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